Have you registered for an AFK course and waiting for it to start? Wondering what you should be doing before your AFK course begins to make use of your time? We’ve got you covered with some easy to follow tips to help you enter your AFK course with confidence and improve your overall experience during the course!
If your course provides you with books and study materials before the course starts:
At Scholars Dental it is our mission to provide students with as much chance for success as possible, so we always try and give our students their material as soon as they register. This is a fantastic way to get a head start with your reading and begin the learning process early!
Scholars Dental AFK books
Our recommendation is to start reading the BASIC SCIENCE text book first as this will best prepare you for the pharmacology lectures within the course. If you finish and still have time, you could move onto reading the PHARMA text book; you may find it difficult to understand pharma on your own, but don’t give up because you’ll discover that you will comprehend more during the lectures from being familiar with it.
If you don’t have course material before your course starts:
We recommend that you read through the dental decks part 2. The perio and pathology sections are very informative and are excellent tools you can use to prepare yourself before the course.
In our opinion the pharma section of the dental decks is not great, but reading it can still benefit you long term and prepare yourself for the course. You will most likely get confused and have some unsolved problems when reading PHARMA on your own, but don’t stress, because once you’re in the course you’ll discover solutions to all these problems and have your AHA moment! This will improve your understanding and retention of the information. Trust the process and trust in yourself.
Avoid solving questions on your own or in public groups:
If you are taking our course, we recommend you DO NOT solve questions on your own. Read without going to questions and ignore the answers of public groups.
It may seem tempting to start checking questions, but it can easily lead to adopting answers and habits that are incorrect (for example getting answers from Facebook groups or group chats). Whether you’re preparing with or without course material, we advise against answering questions on your own. Read the material, and once you’re in the course there will be plenty of time and opportunities to review and answer questions with an instructor to guide you on a correct path.
In conclusion:
Once you’ve made the decision to take an AFK course, we recommend getting an early start on your learning! Not only does it give you a head start, it will prepare you for the schedule and mindset of being a student again.
We’d love to hear from you! Leave us a comment below, what are some tips you’ve used to prepare for a course?